The overall objective of the Biomedical Research Improvement Program at Morris Brown College is to improve, strengthen & increase the biomedical research capabilities & resources of its faculty members & students through the MBRS program. The college is totally committed toward increasing the participation of its faculty & students in research & thereby, strengthening the overall research infrastructure of the institution & increasing the participation of minorities in Science & Health related fields. The establishment of the MBRS program at the college will have a tremendous impact on faculty & students. In order to achieve the above objective, we are proposing continued funds for equipment and resources for 2 current MBRS investigators (i.e. Drs. Jones and Stahl) in order that they can continue to develop & sustain their research potential; & funds for 3 new investigators (Drs. Hicks, Moore & Durojaiye) who are highly motivated toward initiating MBRS research projects. The current MBRS PI's have implemented a productive research history toward meeting the mission & goals of the MBRS program & have subsequently made a tremendous contribution in publishing reputable research papers in their areas & toward motivating students to pursue careers in the Sciences. In addition, the new investigators have obtained significant research data on their projects & have worked extensively with non-salaried undergraduate students. The projects consist of multidisciplinary research problems & approaches and are commonly linked through biomedical impact & health significance. The projects traverse in areas of biochem., toxicol., pharmacol., parasitol., protozool., ultrastruct., infect. diseases, mole. biol., & exper. psychol. The experimental design & methods represent current "state-of-the-art and advanced techniques in solving research problems. An innovative & creative phase of the proposed program is the continuance of "special enrichment activities" which will tremendously supplement MBRS research activities. Such activities include: 1. an "in- house" AUC Undergraduate Biomedical Research Symposium; 2. Nobel Laureate & Science Day; and 3. a MBRS Research Seminar Series. These activities will further motivate & encourage students to pursue research careers & grad. prof. schs.